When Things Go Wrong, Sometimes They Really Go Wrong, Part 3 (and by attending to this early enough it can end up right) Sandra L Waugh VMD, MS
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ast seen at 31 weeks old, the Portuguese Water Dog still had some growing to do and teeth to fully erupt. Here is where we ended in the last issue:
31 weeks and 6 days old. The blue arrow points to the upper right canine, yellow arrow to lower right canine, green arrow to upper left canine, and the lower left canine was hidden by the upper incisors in the middle and far right photographs. The lower canine teeth were finally erupting but some upper teeth were in the way. After all that work to get the incisors to be visible, two had to be extracted! The photographs below were taken at 7 months and 15 days old, which was 13 days after the extractions of the upper incisors. The lower canine teeth were now easily seen and positioned nicely. At last the lower canine teeth had an unobstructed path in which to fully erupt.
The blue arrow points to the upper right canine, yellow arrow to lower right canine, green arrow to upper left canine, and the white arrow to the lower left canine. At 10 months and 21 days old, a little more than three months after the previous photographs, the mouth was at or near its final appearance. The upper and lower incisors were not perfectly lined up, but functional. In veterinary dentistry the comfort of the pet is the goal, not to attain a “perfect smile�. The series of photographs also demonstrates how wide the base of the canine tooth is, and why a good sized gap is necessary for all four canine teeth.
The blue arrow points to the upper right canine, yellow arrow to lower right canine, green arrow to upper left canine, and the white arrow to the lower left canine. 54 4 Legs & a Tail
Spring 2020